Radical Face is one of the numerous monikers under which Jacksonville, Florida, native Ben Cooper releases music.Officially, Radical Face consists solely of Ben Cooper, a multi-instrumentalist who records from his home in
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Radical Face is one of the numerous monikers under which Jacksonville, Florida, native Ben Cooper releases music.

Officially, Radical Face consists solely of Ben Cooper, a multi-instrumentalist who records from his home in Jacksonville, Florida. When touring Ben is often accompanied by friends and fellow Jacksonville, Florida residents Jack Ringca (on drums and keyboard), Jeremiah Johnson (keyboard, guitar, tambourine, and more), and Clay Doran (on bass).

The Junkyard Chandelier is a compilation album released by Ben Cooper on the Radical Face website forum. The album is a collection of early demos, recordings, and other songs that were not made available on Ghost or any of his other musical endeavors. The album received no official record label release, and can be downloaded directly from the website here. The track listing is:

01. Stitches In My Side02. The Scarecrows Are Marching03. Martyr04. Chewing Bottles05. Junkyard Chandelier06. Paper Birds07. Fog In The House of Light Bulbs08. Runs In The Sidewalk09. Confidants and Fishhooks10. Pockets Full of Ink11. Burning Bridges

GHOST (2007)

The first official album from Radical Face, Ghost,was released March 02, 2007. Ghost is an atmospheric concept album centered around a house that is haunted by the phantoms of its previous tenets. While Ben Cooper plays the majority of the instruments heard on the album, the liner-notes thank Emeral Cooper for playing piano, Mark Hubbard for playing snare drum, and Alex Kane for playing the bass on a handful of songs The track listing is:

01. Asleep On A Train02. Welcome Home03. Let The River In04. Glory05. The Strangest Things06. Wrapped In Piano Strings07. Along The Road08. Haunted09. Winter Is Coming10. Sleepwalking11. Homesick

During a 2013 concert in Chicago, IL, Ben revealed numerous song meanings during in-between song banter, included were: "Welcome Home," a song about a son returning home to discover that, in his absence, his family has moved on without him and all the good things he remembers have gone away; "Glory," a song about a man who goes AWOL from war and returns home to his wife and the simple life he had before being drafted. The song culminates in him climbing onto the roof of his house and dying after angry townspeople hit him in the head with a rock; "Wrapped in Piano Strings," a song about a father who kills himself, but gets trapped within the walls of his house and is forced to watch his children and grandchildren grow up in the same house where he died; and "Along the Road," a song about a dream that Ben had.

After the success of Ghost Ben released an EP to tide fans over before his next big release. The EP, called Touch The Sky, was released on October 05, 2010, and included b-sides, alternate takes, and more. The track listing is:

Before unveiling his next big project, Ben also contributed a handful of individual tracks to various compilations. These included Not Given Lightly: A Tribute to the Giant Golden Book of New Zealand's Alternative Music Scene (released May 08, 2009) and Do Fun Things, Volume 1 (2010). The songs contributed, respectively, are:

01. Wandering (2009)02. Missing Teeth (2010)

THE FAMILY TREE: THE ROOTS (2011)

The second major release for Radical Face was The Family Tree, begun in 2011. Again following a conceptual theme, the project is a proposed trilogy of albums detailing the lives of a family called the Northcotes over the course of several hundred years. According to an interview with Paste Magazine, each album is meant to approach story-telling from a different angle.

On August 19, 2011 the EP The Bastards, Volume 1, was released track-by-track. The songs on the EP are part of The Family Tree but just did not fit properly into the final album. As such, they were released as an appetizer for those who were awaiting the first installment of the trilogy. Later, all three songs were packaged with The Family Tree: The Roots as a digital download on the iTunes store. The track listing is:

01. All is Well (It's Only Blood)02. All is Well (Goodbye, Goodbye)03. We're On Our Way

As a gift to those who pre-ordered the album, a special pre-release download of the song "Severus and Stone" was sent out, with an accompanying story that included a hidden website address. For fans who discovered the secret, a bonus download of a b-side was given by visiting the website. While having no official title, fans have taken to calling the album ...And The Trees Stood Like Skeletons based on the opening lyric from "Severus and Stone" and the accompanying poster included with the download. The track listing is:

01. Severus and Stone02. Bishop's Song

The first installment, The Family Tree: The Roots, released on October 04, 2011, begins the trilogy in the early 1800s and attempts to use verbal story-telling as the method of delivery. The album features instrumentation solely played by Ben, aside from one guest spot, Emeral Cooper, who plays piano on the song "The Dead Waltz". The track listing is:

At a 2013 concert in Chicago, IL, Ben revealed further meanings behind a number of the songs found on The Family Tree: The Roots. Included in explanations during banter between songs were: "A Pound of Flesh," a song about a gentleman who kills another in cold blood, and the troubles that follow as he contemplates what he has done; "Black Eyes," about a woman whose husband is abusive, and her struggle to find peace and the courage to abandon him and live a life on her own; "Ghost Towns," about a drifter who experiences his life from train cars and how it alters his perception of right and wrong; and "Always Gold," which details the perspective of two brothers, one who is always getting into trouble, and the other who must constantly clean up his messes.

On September 08, 2011 Radical Face was featured on the album The Day Will Come Before Long by the band Miaou. Contributing guitar and vocals, Radical Face is a guest on one song:

01. Lost Souls

On September 25, 2012 Radical Face was featured on the album No Food But Lots of Weapons by the musician Zucchini Drive. Contributing backing vocals Radical Face is a guest on one song:

01. Come Hungry

On November 13, 2012 Radical Face released an EP and single, titled Always Gold, as an accompanyment the eponymous track from The Family Tree: The Roots. The album featured b-sides, alternate takes, and edited versions of songs from the Radical Face catalogue. The track listing is:

A number of characters from The Family Tree: The Roots will return for the second installment of the proposed trilogy, as well as the introduction of many new family members as the time period transitions from the early 1800s to the turn of the century. Various aspects of the project include songs about the Civil War, the gold rush, child labor, and the emergence of mental illness in America.

As with the first installment, Ben released The Bastards, Volume 2, an EP of b-sides, on October 08, 2013. The extended-play features three songs detailing the lives of various members of the Northcotes, and was made available on Soundcloud for streaming, and download to those who had pre-ordered the album. The track listing is:

01. Second Family Portrait02. West03. Letters Home (Aftermath)

On October 22, 2013 the second installment of The Family Tree: The Branches was released. The second installment of The Family Tree is meant to continue the story of the Northcotes, this time through a series of letters and diary entries that detail their movement from the 1800s into the 1900s. The track listing is:

01. Gray Skies02. Holy Branches03. The Mute04. Reminders05. Summer Skeletons06. The Crooked Kind07. Chains08. Letters Home09. From The Mouth of An Injured Head10. Southern Snow11. The Gilded Hand12. We All Go The Same

During a concert in Chicago, IL, Ben revealed the meanings behind a handful of songs that will be featured on the album as he premiered them. Among these were: "Holy Branches," which is similar in theme to earlier songs and details the life of a man who spends his life trying to find meaning and purpose; "Reminders," which revisits the drifter from "Ghost Towns" on the previous album; and "The Gilded Hand," which details the experiences of child workers in factories before the enactment of child labor laws.

In an article with Paste Magazine Cooper also revealed that many songs from The Family Tree also have origins among his own family and autobiographical experiences. Among these are: "The Mute," based on Ben's autistic nephew; and "Southern Snow," based on the only time that Jacksonville, Florida ever saw snowy weather.